Is the Lattice Slice another victim to COVID-19 as low sales and shelf space have prompted Arnott's Biscuits to axe the Lattice Biscuit from the range? Are people just not using the biscuit in favour of making sour dough bread as we socially distance and no longer gather together and share a plate? Do people no longer have morning tea with a Lattice Slice as a pleasant treat?

Or is there a Great Sao Conspiracy in play where the square cracker is no longer playing nice with the sweeter, flaky cousin in the Cheat's Vanilla Slice War as the biscuit of choice? Many will tout the Sao (likened to cardboard) with a drizzle of passionfruit icing as an excellent alternative. It may please some palates but the Lattice Slice is the most important component to the flavour profile of the nostalgic favourite. Substituting that or puff pastry is not going to taste the same nor freeze the same.

The case may simply be that Arnott's favour the popular limited editions of Tim Tams and the novelty of the new TV Snacks to bring in quick money. The Lattice Biscuit may not be tasty by itself although I am guilty of eating it as a biscuit. I recoil in horror as to what some US executive may have responded with when presented with the biscuit amongst the range when KKR bought the company in 2019. Did no one bustle in with a tea trolley with a presentation of the products? Did no one give these people the Lattice Slice or the Cheat's Vanilla Slice. Americans are novices to the world of the humble Vanilla/Custard Slice and they should be introduced to more Antipodean classics such as these.

What is known is that IGA holds the last stocks of the foundation (and roof) for the construction of the iconic Australian treat until they run out. Now I know that sales are the most important thing but surely there could be a place in that local bastion in grocery stores, IGA, to keep this as a permanent feature. Should future generations of Australian children miss out on the classic Lattice Slice or a Cheat's Vanilla Slice? I do not think that they should.